Mathieu Valbuena has scores to settle. Guest of the “Game of Truth” in the show Rothen s’igne on RMC, the former French international with 52 caps returned to an episode which marked the brutal end of his career in Blue. Ten years after the events, the bitterness remains intact regarding the management of Didier Deschamps in this affair which changed everything.
“Protect me from what? I am a victim”
Valbuena's story is clear. After the revelation of the sex tape affair in 2015, Deschamps calls him into the OL locker room : “He said to me: 'I'm not going to take you into this gathering to protect you. We're going to play at the Stade de France and I want to protect you.' » Valbuena’s response snaps like a whiplash: “ But protect myself from what? I am a victim. »
The coach insists
: “We’re going to play in Paris, the affair is out, I can’t put you in the den of the wolf…” Valbuena remembers: “I was very upset when I hung up. I was not called back again. » This conversation marks the definitive end of his adventure with the French team, while he was the alleged victim in this affair.
Euro 2016, the wound that does not heal
What hurts Valbuena the most is Euro 2016 at home. Deschamps calls him before the announcement of the 23 to tell him that he is not taking it
“for sporting reasons”. The former Marseillais does not accept it: “I didn't have a great season with Lyon, it's true, but we saw cases where players were good for the national team without being very successful at clubs. »
He cites the example of 2014: “ I was coming off a complicated season at OM and I was still called up. » The contrast with the treatment reserved for Karim Benzema, convicted in this case but recalled for Euro 2021, adds to his frustration. Valbuena, for his part, will never have had the right to a second chance.
